woke up this morning...the coop door was WIDE open..I was like? what how did that happen..
I woke m y son up and said c'mon we have to go get the chickens..the door is open..
however..I thought they were out freeranging...

apparently not...walked out there...there were 18 carcasses laying all over my side yard...
several alive in the pen...several missing..

so I think someone came into our yard and opened the door up..after we went to bed...then
the animal got them??

we have 14 alive now...25 dead, we found 20 carcasses and 5 are "missing" presumed dead...

You know..my son had his favorite chicken, his pet..truly she was his pet..of course..they couldnt
not kill her...but we did find her and buried her by herself and he made a headstone..(he's 14 dont judge lol)..
he has cried all day long..
my girls went to bed crying...

I feel like puking...seriously puking...

a couple of them hubby had to "finish" off b'cuz their insides were hanging out and they were suffering..
most of the ones lying around in the yard; just had a couple small puncture wounds..so not sure if they were
scared literally to death or what...

when I left the house today to take my daughtter to the hospital for tests...we only had 11 hens...when I came back, we had 13 hens and 1 Roo...they must have came back out of hiding!

They are ALL terrified, the roo keeps hunkering under a piece of plywood...they are all very skittish and I swear, if there is such thing as post traumatic stress disorder for chickens..they have it...

they wouldnt go in their coop tonight..we had to really GENTLY coax them in..
we have a lock on the coop door..we locked it...we also pulled the huge bin of grain in front of it..."just in case"
and then for the chicken door inside we put a piece of plywood over it, put 3 bricks in front of it...
and did the same thing for the outside of the chicken door..w/heavier bricks and locked the run as well..

IF something happens tonight..I KNOW it'll be a person ...

I'm super sick to my stomach..my boy is hurting terribly right now and I cant help him...

(then on a diff. note..my husbands work handed down new structuring positions today; he gets to keep his SAME job, diff. title and 25% paycut..how fair is that??)..

puke..puke..seriously I have a lump in my throat and I'm atually kinda scared to go to sleep..

Ohhh, I am so veryveryvery sorry for all of this, the chickens & the job & your grieving son & your daughter at the hospital & everything. I do hope it wasn't a human hand intentionally opening the door, perhaps the latch failed to catch and you didn't notice it. Raccoons are also notorious for being able to unlatch doors.

All the dead but otherwise unharmed birds make me think dog, or dogs, they will often catch and shake many more than they'll try to eat at once.

Murphy's Law of Chicken Depredation says that it's always your favorite birds that get taken first. And also that the one time you don't latch the gate completely is the night the predators come by.

I'm sorry for your young son's loss, it's doubly hard to see our kids sad over the loss of their pets. I hope it helps to have given his chicken a proper burial.

Let's hope this is the last time for this, that you've found a way to make the door especially secure. Keep an eye out for tracks to see what kind of predator you're dealing with.

well, I didnt personally do it, my son did..and he swears it latched...b'cuz you really have to push it hard to close it..
but I cant question him about it, because I have to show that I believe him..
BUT the wind was whipping like NUTS last night...but even when it is completely latched..the wind wouldnt blow it open..

This is terrible. Please, try to get some sleep - it sounds like a predator. They can be very clever about getting coop doors open.

If a person is responsible for leaving the door ajar, they might not have known that predators could savage your flock. I hope very much that isn't the case though. And if this was a deliberate human attack on your flock, then that is horrifying and you will need to alert someone in your local law enforcement arena.

And I am very sorry about your husband, too - at least he still has a job, but a pay cut stinks. Hang in there. Things have a way of getting better after something really awful.

PS - there's nothing wrong with commemorating the burial of a beloved pet - there's a headstone for my kitty out back and I'm not 14, but past 60.

I am so so so sorry for your hens, jobs (how unfair!) and your kids. It looks like you are going thorugh a lot. It is always like that. When it rains it pours. I hope you are ok. Just take one day at a time. Sh...t happens. Tomorrow is a new day. I will be sending you and your family many many many positive thoughts. Take care hun.

you know what makes it worse, is that I really dont have any IRL friends...I have a few acquaintances...but none that will just come over and sit with me and listen/talk to me..
and I canat talk to hubby cause he's working his 77 hrs this wk (his new job title etc doesnt start for a couple wks)...but sometimes a good girlfriend with a great cry can help..and
I cant..I'm alone..like normal...again..

you know what makes it worse, is that I really dont have any IRL friends...I have a few acquaintances...but none that will just come over and sit with me and listen/talk to me..
and I canat talk to hubby cause he's working his 77 hrs this wk (his new job title etc doesnt start for a couple wks)...but sometimes a good girlfriend with a great cry can help..and
I cant..I'm alone..like normal...again..

Awwwwwwww *hugs* I am sorry for you, for your kids and for your poor chickens. I am sure of any of us were nearby, we'd come hang out and keep you company ... I'm in Austin Texas myself, so I'm afraid my support and condolences have to come from a distance :<

we had a similar massacre a few months back (but lost 9 hens- had 2 roos and one hen left after that one) sadly it was a neighbor dog who got in and killed them, left the bodies for us to find... one of the hens we lost was the sweetest little thing who would come sit on my foot while i was in the coop. i am so very sorry for your loss, i understand how horrible it feels, that lump in your throat, the icky sinking in your stomach- horrifying. my heart goes out to you and your family. blessings <3